Question: Does anyone have an ‘International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative’ policy? Answer: The IDDSI framework has many resources and guidance on how to implement the framework. https://iddsi.org/framework/ Consider convening a meeting with the dietitian, ST, dietary manager, and the rep from your food service company to discuss use and implementation. …
Question: When I received training for ICD-10 coding as it relates to billing, I was taught that the primary diagnosis code for long term SNF residents on a UB-04 claim would be their primary diagnosis for why they remain in the nursing facility. Therefore, if the primary diagnosis code was …
Question: Are we responsible for dental appointments (toothache) on our Medicare Part A residents or does the dentist bill the family? Answer: Dental coverage is not part of the Medicare Part A program, so the cost is also not the facility’s responsibility. In other words, there is no dental money …
Question: I understand that the diagnosis in I0020B should be listed as the principal diagnosis on the UB-04 claim; however, should the remaining diagnoses be listed in order according to the main reasons the resident is skilled how we list the codes in I8000, to include the codes that are …
Question: This situation seems to be happening at my facility more and more. When residents pass away at the facility and do not have a funeral home listed, how long (hours) are we able to keep the body? I have family members who seem to think that they can call …
Question: Does the primary diagnosis that physical therapy and occupational therapy use need to match the primary ICD-10 code used by nursing? Answer: Often confusion stems from the terms used across different disciplines. Therapists use medical and treatment diagnoses, while the SNF uses other terms, such as admission diagnosis, …
Question: Under RUG-IV PPS, if the resident returns to a skilled level of care within 30 days the reason for skilled care would have to be something that was present/treated during the first qualifying hospital stay or developed during the skilled period. How does that work with PDPM and the Interrupted …
Question: We have a resident who is independent with eating during the day, but also is total dependence for nightly tube feeding. Would a coding of extensive assist of one be correct? Answer: Please review the example in the RAI Manual on page G-11: Residents with tube feeding, TPN, …
Question: Do we need to report to ombudsman if a short-term resident was sent out to the hospital for change of condition? Answer: No, not unless the change of condition was due to an unusual occurrence. Interested in reading more FAQs? Visit the AADNS Network where you can review questions …
Q: Our facility is non-smoking. A small number of staff have a picnic table approximately 50 yards away from the facility where they are allowed to smoke. We do not allow smoking within the facility and none of our residents smoke. That said, do we still need a “smoking policy?” …
